Friday, 9 January 2009

Guidelines for managing social media

Intel has a great set of guidelines for managing social media. I often get asked by corporations how they should guide their employees in the use of social media. Despite overwhelming demand, there is no single generic guide available. This is because it depends entirely on the corporate culture.

Many organisations are still deeply uncomfortable (and nervous of the regulatory implications) of allowing employees to engage with social media. So giving them a really good set of social media guidelines will probably lead to further retrenchment.

However, some companies understand the value of social media and guide their employees to use it in a responsible, constructive manner which adds value to their brand. Intel is one such company. Its social media guidelines are well worth a look and provide as good a template as any for how employee engagement in social media can protect and promote your brand.